Weird question, I know, but I was thinking:

Shenmue originally was meant for the Saturn. Had it been completed, maybe the Saturn would've been known for Shenmue like Xbox was known for Halo.

The Saturn would've tanked anyway, but maybe the demise could've been temporarily delayed...........

Maybe... I think the 32X and CD killed the Saturn before it hit the ground running.

shenmue couldn't save the dreamcast, so saturn is out of the question

I think if they went all 2D from the start like originally planned (simple 3D, VF1 being about as good as it can be) and had a kickass new Sonic titles with some good multiplayer and 3D effects and had a good launch with a good lineup and retailed at $249.99, Saturn MIGHT have had a chance to beat the PS1. Sonic Adventure, Sonic Xtreme, Shenmue, NiGHTS... would have been cool if they all had made it to Saturn, but it still would have been a failure. NiGHTS is a great game though...

Shenmue is a quirky very japanese adventure game with a draconian plot.
Halo is 'shoot things in the face until they are dead.'
There is a slight difference there. Shenmue would never get the mass appeal like a halo would, despite the ridiculous budget.

Nothing could have saved Sega unfortunately........ "moneybags" Sony were just simply far too financially strong for Sega.......... I saw bloody advertisements for that rat crash bandicoot even behind nightclub bars back in 1996... once sony arrived the writing was on the wall for Sega

Money talks (Sony) & Talent walks (Sega)

whats a shenmu?

jk i know its a game, but not a well known game as far as i know.

Actually, Shenmue was a pretty popular game when it came out.  Just not popular enough to recoup costs of the game's development

Shenmue is too much of an unknown. Phantasy Star could have saved the Saturn. If they would have made a Finay Fantasy VII calibur Phantasy Star V and stuck with the series, they could have made a big name for themselves.

RPGs caught on during the PSX era. Sega lost their most loyal RPG dev, Working Designs, due to giving them a bad spot at the Sega booth. After that it all became history. Working Designs ended up making the last Saturn game in the US, as they did with the Sega CD. Sega moved on to Dreamcast without an RPG dev and lost. Working Designs was Sega's secret weapon, whether they knew it or not. That is the only gripe that I hold towards Sega. They didn't treat their most valuable third party right. Working Designs stuck with Sega from the start on their own free will, no money from Sega here. Sega needed Working Designs to survive and Working Designs needed Sega to survive. Once the ties broke, it was over for both. Sega had nothing to counter Final Fantasy. On the other end, Working Designs went into a saturated market. PSX had too many RPG devs and they got lost in the fold. Greatness is easier to spot when there is no competition, ala PS3.

Working Designs, my favorite dev, R.I.P., please make a comeback (ala Gaijinworks) like you said. >_<

It cost 70 million and basically sunk sega in the hardware buisness I guess if it was a huge sucess it might have but it was boring